Body formed to check fish smuggling by sea

A 13-member high-powered committee has been formed to check fish smuggling in the sea and intrusion of other countries' fishermen into the Bangladesh water territory, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Sayedul Hoque said Sunday, reports UNB.
He said this while talking to journalists after an inter-ministerial meeting at the secretariat on protecting fish resources in Bangladesh water territory and limited the number of trawlers fishing in the bay.
Sayedul Hoque said the committee, led by a Joint Secretary of the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry, comprises representatives from police, RAB, BGB, port authorities, Navy, Bangladesh Coast Guard, National Board of Revenue, Foreign Ministry, Home Ministry, Shipping Ministry and Marine and Fisheries Academy.
He said the committee will monitor fish resources and activities of commercial trawlers in the sea.
The committee will submit its report to the ministry in three months on updated information of fish resources in the exclusive economic zone of the Bay of Bengal, amount of fish to be caught without harming the environment and recommending action against unapproved foreign trawlers.